Author: Anthony Doerr is the author of five books of fiction, including his newest novel, All The Light We Cannot See, and the award-winning short story collection The Shell Collector.

WWB Book Wise Pow-Wow: Monday, February 9, 2015/8:00 PM

Come Join us as we discuss this book and get interesting perspective from thoughtful and wise readers from around the world. All that is required is subscribing to the blog with an e-mail. See Subscriber Button in the sidebar to your right…

Our first ‘Book Wise’ selection is a 2014 National Book Award finalist and an International best seller in the fiction category. ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ is a story about World War II and while there are many books about the war, Anthony Doerr’s story shines a new light and reminds us that empathy can be found in surprising places. At World Wise Beauty we focus on wisdom and I especially enjoy gleaning wisdom from cultures around the world. ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ is historical and culture wise as it’s about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Looking forward to reading and discussing with you…

Truly Herself,Lauroly

REVIEWS OF NOTE:Newspaper, Author, and Librarian ( see WWB’s review on February 9, )

“I’m not sure I will read a better novel this year than Anthony ­Doerr’s “All the Light We Cannot See.” Enthrallingly told, beautifully written and so emotionally plangent that some passages bring tears, it is completely unsentimental — no mean trick when you consider that Doerr’s two protagonists are children who have been engulfed in the horror of World War II. Just ordinary children, two of thousands swallowed up in a conflict they had nothing to do with.” ~Amanda Vaill, Washington Post

“This jewel of a story is put together like a vintage timepiece, its many threads coming together so perfectly. Doerr’s writing and imagery are stunning. It’s been a while since a novel had me under its spell in this fashion. The story still lives on in my head.” –Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone.

“Set during World War II Europe, this novel is sobering without being sentimental. The tension builds as the alternating, parallel stories of Werner and Marie-Laure unfold, and their paths cross. I highly recommend this beautiful and compelling story.” ~Kelly Currie, Librarian, Delphi Public Library, Indiana

Author, Anthony Doerr

Excerpt from NPR interview. “I was on a train heading into Penn Station from Princeton, N.J., and we started going underground. The man in front of me was on his cellphone call — this was in 2004 — and the call dropped. And he got kind of angry, a little embarrassingly angry, unreasonably angry. And I just remember thinking, what he’s forgetting — really what we’re all forgetting all the time — is that this is a miracle. He’s using this little receiver and transmitter , this little radio in his pocket, to send messages at the speed of light rebounding between towers to somebody maybe thousands of miles away. He might have been talking to someone in Madagascar for all I knew. For me, that’s a miracle. So … originally, the real central motivation for the book was to try and conjure up a time when hearing the voice of a stranger in your home was a miracle.”